AGOL is the first U.S. precious metals product to be vaulted in Asia as its custody will store all of its physical gold bars in secure London Bullion Market Association approved vaults in Singapore, as stated in its prospectus. From an investment perspective, the objective of AGOL is to reflect the price performance of reflect the price performance of physical gold, less trust expenses, while carrying an expense ratio of 0.39%. Read More…

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Imbalances in supply and demand continues to push the price of palladium up, as the metal hit an intraday trading high of $804 a troy ounce, the highest levels in nearly ten years, giving positive support to the ETFS Palladium Shares ETF (PALL) and the ETFS Physical White Metal Basket Shares (WITE).

On the demand side, demand is expected to remain healthy and elevated in the near-term future getting support from a recovery in the global automotive sector. As both the developing and developed economies of the world witness economic growth, automobile sales are expected to follow. Most recently, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that sales of passenger vehicles rose 33 percent to a whopping 13.76 million units last year. Further demand support is expected to come from the passage of stricter emissions and regulations on automobiles around the world. Palladium demand is expected to rise with increased automobile sales, due to the vital role it plays in vehicle exhaust catalysts to control emissions in automobiles. Read More…

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As gold continues to oscillate ahead and below the $1,400 per ounce mark, some suggest that the precious metal could be in a bubble, but there are four reasons the metal is likely to sustain its price levels in the near future.

First, gold continues to be the ultimate safe haven in times of uncertainty. The US economy is showing signs of recovery, but at a slow and steady pace. The most recent data that illustrates this is a report by the Labor Department which indicated that US employers added fewer than expected jobs last month and payroll counts increased by 103,000 last week as opposed to the 150,000 expected by analysts. To put it into perspective, these numbers resulted in Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke to state that it would take “four to five more years” for the labor markets to completely heal. Read More…

Gold futures contracts for December delivery hit an intraday price of $1,410.40 per ounce in electronic trading and the front month November contract rose to $1,402.80 per ounce as investors fled to the precious metal’s safe haven appeal. Costs of insuring against bond defaults on the sovereign debt of Ireland, Portugal and Spain continue to rise amplifying the enhanced risks in the region and the likelihood of default, which provided positive price support to gold. Read More…

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With the implementation of QE2 around the corner, fears of inflation have elevated and the US dollar has been diminishing in value making precious metals even more appealing. As a result, ETF provider, Global X, launched the Gold Explorers ETF (GLDX), which is the first pure play ETF offering exposure to gold exploration companies.

GLDX seeks to replicate the performance of the Solactive Global Gold Explorers Index, which is a benchmark that measures the performance of companies engaged in exploration for precious metals. Furthermore, GLDX is expected to carry an expense ratio of 0.65% and consist of 30 different holdings, with the majority of the holdings involved with exploring for gold reserves throughout the world. Lastly, from a country exposure, the index is heavily concentrated to Canada and the United States. Read More…

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As the appeal for precious metals continues to prevail, ETF provider, ETF Securities, announced that its newest product, the ETFS Precious Metals Basket (GLTR), will begin trading on the NYSE Arca tomorrow.

This new ETF will be the first of its kind enabling investors to gain access to physically backed gold, silver, platinum and palladium all in one security. The actual gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion that the ETF is backed by is expected to be held by the trust, vaulted in London and Switzerland and inspected biannually by the independent metal assayer, Inspectorate International. Read More…

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Over the past few months, precious metals have taken the cake and attracted an influx of assets, pushing the price of silver and its exchange traded funds (ETFs) up. As for the future of the metal, it appears to remain bright and investors have a slew of choices to gain both direct and indirect exposure.

This recent rally in silver has been driven primarily by macroeconomic forces. Increases in money supply and a record budget deficit have many concerned about the overall strength of the dollar and a reduction in the purchasing power of the nation. Read More…